Reading: Children of the Night, by Mercedes Lackey

Mercedes Lackey, Children of the Night: A Diana Tregarde Investigation, Tor Books (paperback), 2005.

This novel could be classified as urban fantasy, or dark fantasy, or paranormal romance, if you wish. However, it was first published in 1990, well before the explosion of these (sub-)genres.

On the menu tonight: love, magick, drugs and rock’n’roll…

I like Mercedes Lackey‘s easy blend of horror, humour, adventure and whatever-it-takes-to-make-the-story-go-ahead. I like her heroine, Diana Tregarde, a modern witch who writes romance novels to make a living (because being a psychic investigator doesn’t pay). And the bad guys of the story, the « psychic vampires », are genuinely scaaaary! There’s also a real (bloodsucking) vampire who’s a true gentleman and a perfect lover – no wonder. This one takes more after Chelsea Quinn Yarbro’s Saint-Germain than classic old Count Dracula, or even Anne Rice’s oh-so-byronic Lestat.

Light fare, but highly enjoyable.